Galveston Seawall

The Galveston Seawall is seven miles long and seventeen feet high and protects the city from hurricanes.

On September 8, 1900, a hurricane sent an 8-foot high wave crashing into the city of Galveston, Texas. At that time, Galveston was the state's largest city with 36,000 residents. This hurricane killed 6,000-8,000 people and is considered to be the worst natural disaster in U.S. history. After the hurricane, the city asked retired Army engineer Henry Robert to design a seawall that would be seven miles long and seventeen feet high. The work began in October 27, 1902 and was completed on July 30, 1904. Robert designed the wall as asked and also raised the city by pumping sand underneath the buildings. The seawall successfully weathered hurricanes in 1909, 1941, and so on. In 1915, the seawall was tested by another hurricane that was thought to be stronger than the 1900 Storm. This time, all but 8 people survived.